Transfer Talk

Transfer Talk

Linn-Benton Community College and Lebanon High School have partnered with Oregon State University to provide a better path and support from high school through college graduation. The Lebanon High School Early College program will allow students to simultaneously complete their high school diploma and earn an associate degree, which will make them eligible to attend OSU and apply for a $3,000 scholarship. It’s an extension of the Beyond LHS program, which already allows LHS students to attend LBCC classes and earn both diplomas. LBCC’s existing degree partnership with OSU allows students to attend classes at both institutions while having services of both available for their use.

Virginia’s Community Colleges’ nursing students now have a faster, more affordable pathway to a bachelor’s degree, thanks to an agreement signed between the system and Western Governors University. The guaranteed admissions agreement would allow students who have earned their associate’s degree in nursing from one of Virginia’s 23 community colleges as well as their license to practice as a Registered Nurse to earn a bachelor’s degree in three years at an estimated total cost of $17,000 in tuition and fees. At WGU, those students would complete nine additional courses through online classes. Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges, noted in the announcement that similar programs could be developed in the future in fields such as information technology, business, or other health care-related areas.

The Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program created and used by some University of California campuses to encourage transfer students to apply and enroll is being phased out at UC San Diego, which has offered TAG to all 112 community colleges in the state. The institution, according to a statement, experienced “a dramatic increase in California resident numbers over the last five years, which has exceeded the amount of state funding provided for the university’s instructional capacity.” The program will accept its last applicants in November for the fall 2014 quarter. Officials say discontinuing the program will help ensure UC San Diego is able to provide the opportunity for more transfer students to be eligible for limited spots by broadening the admissions pool to all transfer student applicants.